There will be a bell-to-bell ban on smartphones next year at Staples High School.
There is no determination yet on when it will begin. It may or may not include seniors. It probably won’t involve Yondr bags.
All those elements — and many more — will be worked out, by an “implementation committee” of administrators, staff, students and parents.
They may be ready by opening day next fall. They may take longer.
What’s most important, said superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice at last night’s Board of Education meeting, is to get it right.
He has championed a “deliberative process” since first introducing the idea of a ban, and waited to see how Wilton High’s process (initiated this year) worked.
Board members — including the two non-voting students, Calum Madigan Souleye Kebe — agreed on the broad outlines of a ban.
Robert Harrington, who disagrees with Scarice on many issues, praised the superintendent for changing Harrington’s mind
“I work in technology,” Harrington said, “and it’s counterintuitive to me to take technology away.
“But I’ve been swayed by (Scarice’s) vision for the culture at Staples. I hope we move with speed to implement it. I don’t think it’s right to ban phones for seniors, and Yondr bags seem to treat students like children. But I favor the superintendent’s recommendation.”
Voices were far louder earlier in the evening, during discussion of the Board of Education’s vote on Monday to affirm Scarice’s non-renewal of boys soccer head coach Russell Oost-Lievense’s contract.
Board of Education members, and their mediator, at Monday’s appeal hearing. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Members Dorie Hordon and Jill Dillon began by explaining their votes, based on their narrow charge to determine whether the superintendent’s decision had been “arbitrary and capricious.”
Hordon called coaching “a privilege, not a right. I understand many people are disappointed. This was a difficult and painful situation. Anyone can reach out to me. I am happy to explain my decision in more detail.”
Olson said, “We followed the policy with the evidence that was presented to us, and the testimony we heard under oath. It was a hard and painful decision, and not made lightly.”
Harrington stressed the importance of all documents and emails — including those that had not been admitted as evidence — being provided to the board. He reiterated his call for the resignation of athletic director VJ Sarullo.
Several members of the public spoke. Steve Shackelford questioned why Sarullo reported a “physical assault” to the Department of Children and Family Services, while testifying under oath that there had not been one.
He added, “This is not going away. This is not a soccer issue. It’s an issue of how all of our coaches and teachers are treated by the administration.
Joan Gillman asked why 8 witnesses — including herself — had not been allowed to testify. “Decisions were made on incomplete evidence. You took away the coach’s right to defend himself,” she told the board. “What were you afraid of?”
There was one surprise during the public comments. Eoghan Scully, whose High Point Road property abuts Staples’ Jinny Parker Field, complained about the sudden locking of a gate through which many students walk to Staples and Bedford Middle School.
Scarice apologized for not answering earlier. He said that, after conversations with the Westport Public School’s risk management personnel, the gates would be locked during the school day.
They will be open, however, at all other times: before and after school, and on weekends.
Jinny Parker Field will be padlocked only during school hours. (Photo/Dave Briggs)
(If you follow school news — or anything else — on “06880,” please click here to support our work. Thanks for helping us do what we do!)
Many Westporters have seen yard signs that say “OK to Delay.”
They’re the work of a group advocating to push back the age at which children begin using cellphones and social media. Organizers say:
We recognize that there may be some confusion among some community members about our mission.
“Our goal is to unite parents who share a growing concern about the effects of early and excessive use of smartphones and social media. We’re dedicated to building a community of informed parents who are choosing to delay giving their kids smartphones, and to push back against the troubling trends we’re seeing in teen mental health. We believe that phone-free schools are an important piece of this puzzle.
“Our mission is rooted in community, and we feel lucky to live in a town filled with dedicated parents and educators. We welcome respectful conversations, and we aim to be approachable and inclusive.
“This is a non-shaming movement. We welcome families at all stages of technology use. It’s about learning how to delay and, eventually, how to help our kids use technology with healthy boundaries in the world we live in today.
“We don’t expect perfection in how we carry out this mission, or in our kids. But we do believe that, as adults, we have a responsibility to protect our children from the mental health impacts of smartphones and social media.
“To learn more, plese join us at any of our meetings or events, email us at oktodelay@gmail.com, or follow us on Instagram at @OKtoDelayWestport.”
OK to Delay is sponsoring an “Alternative Device Fair” this afternoon (Thursday, May 8, 2 to 6 p.m., Westport Library). A variety of non-smartphone brands — with the basic functionality of cellphones, but with fewer distractions — will show their products.
Dumber smartphones on display at today’s Ok to Delay “Alternative Device Fair.”
On Tuesday night, the Board of Education held a listening session. The topic was a proposed “bell to bell” smartphone ban at Staples High School. Several speakers referenced the “Ok to Delay” group.
A Staples parent, who has spent many years serving on PTAs and other youth-oriented boards, is concerned with the tone that group has tken.
She worries that the movement will impact her younger children if her family does not join in, which is why she asked for anonymity. She writes:
The name and educational mission attached to “OK to Delay” is innocuous. It implies that it is “OK” to delay your young children’s technology and social media use.
“OK” in our vernacular typically connotes a personal choice. As an educational resource for parents navigating a technologically advanced society, this mission is admirable. It is supported by many elementary and middle school parents, even those with older teens.
Highlighting the pros and cons, the realities and myths is useful, in light of many findings about technology, and children’s health and safety.
The mission of this organization, based on its own literature and website, is to “protect middle school from smartphones and social media.”
Since Ok to Delay could not achieve its goals at our already phone-free middle schools, the group decided to lobby at the high school level.
Staples parents are typically represented by our PTA, whose executive board made a unanimous recommendation against a bell-to-bell ban at Staples. They cited many valid reasons, which have already been covered on “06880.”
Rather than stating to the high school parents who approached them that the high school is outside of their purview, and that they defer to our own parent organization on this issue, Ok to Delay opted to help wage a battle against the Staples PTA.
Staples High School. (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
Where has this battle occurred? Ironically, on social media.
Ok to Delay has begun, through its Instagram campaign and anonymous online petition, to label the Staples students as having a crisis they are trying to help solve.
Even their recent Instagram post encouraging parents to come to the townwide meeting to discuss the topic is filled with false impressions of Staples students.
“Want to see our Staples (or future Staples) students focused on learning and socializing while in school. Us too!” As opposed to what?
Staples has a phone-free classroom policy. With some exceptions when teachers do not enforce the ban, Staples students are inside their classrooms learning.
What do Staples students do at lunch or during free periods? They socialize.
“Want to utilize the school day as an opportunity to have 8 less hours of social media and screen time?” This statement is meant to provoke.
It is not, like many things in our time of disinformation, an accurate picture of who the Staples students are.
They do not lack for learning time. And they are certainly not inside their high school for 8 hours glued to social media; they know they don’t have the time.
Staples High School high honors graduates, with principal Stafford Thomas (far right) and vice principal Pat Micinilio (far left).
Is it perfect at Staples? The PTA has stated very clearly there are ways to improve upon the current policy.
Superintendent Scarice let the pot boil over. Without decisive action on his own proposed phone ban, he has opened the door to activism and antagonization.
Worst of all, he has let Staples students be labeled as something they are not.
They are hard workers. They are learners. They are achievers. They apply to esteemed colleges. They win academic honors. They compete for state athletic titles. They put on tremendous musical performances.
They are your babysitters. They are your lifeguards. They work downtown. They are your interns. They pick up your Christmas trees. They bring innumerable hours of community service to our town. via SLOBs and the National Charity League.
They help our elderly and our underserved. They fill our food pantries. They work your birthday parties and your summer sports camps. They are your children’s friends’ siblings.
They aren’t social media addicted zombies. Their phones support many of these pursuits, academic and job-related. Their mental health, according to our own data, is improving.
Staples High School baseball players are role models for younger children …
They drive past your signs and know they are being judged.
And they know that suddenly, through all their work at Staples to become technologically responsible near-adults on the verge of the real world, that their families have prepared them for, our town and many residents within it have suddenly labeled them a “problem.”
High school is hard enough in 2025, without the labeling from other adults.
Be careful with our children, OK to Delay. Don’t create a false narrative about the Staples students to serve your purposes. Don’t stereotype them to get your way.
… and entertain. Staples Players’ spring production was “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” (Photo/Kerry Long)
Educate; don’t agitate.
Consensus is not possible on this issue. The ban very well may take hold.
But caricaturing our kids in your campaign is not far off from the ills of social media you seek to protect your own kids from.
The Staples community must work together to solve the real, not globalized, issues within the high school.
(“06880” Opinion pages are open to all. To submit a piece, email 06880blog@gmail.com)
Students don’t know their classmates’ names, because they seldom look up from their phones.
Those phones offer addictive dopamine rushes.
And when students go tech-free, it’s like they’re different people.
Those were some of the sentiments expressed last night, at a special Board of Education meeting. The session, at Coleytown Middle School, was held to hear residents’ thoughts on a proposed smartphone ban at Staples High.
Right now, phones are not supposed to be used during class. The proposal, from superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice, could involve “pouches,” like those at Wilton High. They are locked at the beginning of the school day, and unlocked at the end.
Students handing in phones, to be locked in pouches. (Photo/Allan Jung for Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
The overwhelming majority of speakers favored some sort of ban.
And the vast majority of speakers were adults. Very few students attended.
Moderator Velma Heller — a retired teacher and administrator, and former Representative Town Meeting (RTM) moderator — began by asking attendees if they support a “bell to bell” phone-free high school.
Larry Perlstein, whose daughter is a junior, does not.
Larry Perlstein (Photo/Katherine Phelps)
“Today’s world is all about devices,” he said. “You can’t survive without it. Kids need to learn how to use it appropriately.” He would, however, support a “phased-in” ban.
But Perlstein proved to be an outlier.
Victoria Marcus has elementary age children. She also teaches high school in Bridgeport. She’s the one whose students don’t know classmates’ names, and said, “bell to bell is my time with students.”
Barrie Rosen — mother of a 7th grader — fully supports the ban, beginning next year. “We have heard from Wilton that it is beneficial,” she said. “It is time for action.”
Susanne Hall Armstrong, who has a junior at Staples, supports the ban. Her older children do too, she said, citing the potential for greater social interactions.
John Schwartz — who called phones “addictive,” with their dopamine rush — said that his daughter’s grades improved when he took her phone away.
Staples High math teacher Maggie Gomez recounted a conversation with a freshman. He looked up from a lunch table, and saw all his friends on phones.
“The ban will only do your children good,” Gomez said.
Some parents cited concerns about the proposed ban. One said that using pouches to lock phones is not a good use of teachers’ time.
Noting that teenagers often find ways around rules, he said, “My kids are going to have a device in the building. Period.”
He added, “as parents, we expect to be able to reach our kids.”
Tracey Brenner, the mother of elementary schoolers, countered, “A phone is not a safety device. It is a parental safety device.”
Nathaniel Martin, whose son is an 8th grader, urged the Board of Education to analyze the history of phone use. “We need excellent evidence as to why they should have phones,” he said.
Board of Ed members listened to all sides. They’ll render a decision later.
As the meeting ended, parents texted their spouses to say they’d be home soon.
Students design an app using any programming language on any platform, with no limits on topic or function. Winners from each congressional district have their apps featured online — and in the US Capitol.
And the winners this year for Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District are … Rohan Sareen and Sahil Vora.
The Staples High School sophomores’ app — “Neighborly Impact” — was selected by Representative Jim Himes, for its innovation, design and real-worldl impact.
The app allows neighbors to connect, and get items, medicine, and services.
Rohan and Sahil — the first Staples students to win the contest — are finalizing several safety features. It will then be released to the public.
Himes honored the enterprising pair last month in Washington, at the #HouseofCode ceremony.
Sahil Vora, Rohan Sareen and Congressman Jim Himes, in Washington.
=================================================
Saturday was “Clean Up Westport Day.”
To celebrate, members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 399, and the VFW Auxiliary, picked up litter and beautified nearby Riverside Avenue.
“Our members are proud to give back to Westport,” says VFW quartermaster Phil Delgado. “Events like this allow us to stay connected to the town, and each other.”
Cleaning up at the VFW (from left): Bob Rogers, Janice Veno, Frank Veno, Steve Jenkins, Buyile Rani, Betsy Shoupm Phil Delgado. Photo/ Patty Kondub)
On the other side of the river, the Democratic Women of Westport (and one Democratic Man) cleaned up Grace Salmon Park.
Rear, from left: Nancy Axthelm, Tracy Porosoff, Allyson Stollenwerck, Becky Martin, Abby Tolan. Front: Sal Liccione. Not pictured: Candace Banks, Jessica Hill, Joan Gillman.
Speaking of clean-ups: Josh Berkowsky wants to organize another one.
He and the Saugatuck Congregational Church usually help out at Riverside Park. However, there’s a (good) problem: It’s improved dramatically over the past few years. There’s considereably less trash there. (Thanks, Parks & Rec Department!)
Josh has been checking out new spots. But he doesn’t know every place in Westport. So he asked “06880” to help find “trash-covered waterways or shorelines.”
If you know of one for Josh, the Church (and others — maybe you?) to tackle, email jberkowsky1@gmail.com. Put “Trash” in the subject line.
Speaking of the environment: Bike Westport sends along news of the Drive-Less Challenge.
Sponsored by CTRides, the event promotes alternatives to driving. There are more than most people realize: train, bus, scooter, carpool, vanpool, bike, walk, telecommute.
And, in Westport, Wheels2U.
For every 17 car trips eliminated, CTRides will plant 1 tree.
Need an incentive beyond helping the environment? Just download the “CTRides” app, or click here. Record your non-car trips, from now through May 31.
For every 1+ trips, you’re eligible to win 1 of 10 $25 gift cards. For 20 or more trips, you can win 1 of 4 $100 cards. For 30+ trips, you can win 1 of 2 $250 gift cards — and for 50 or more trips, you’re eligible for a $500 card.
As of yesterday, CTRides recorded 9,518 car trips eliminated; 149,953 miles, $104,967 and 6,606 gallons of gas saved. So far too, 559 trees will be planted.
Speaking of the beach: It’s not too early to think about the fireworks.
And to worry about them.
Alert reader Sunil Hirani sent a news article about President Trump’s tariffs. It notes that over 90% of fireworks used in the US are imported — and 95% of those imports come from China.
“06880” reached out to Corporal Craig Bergamo, president of the Independence Day’s longtime sponsor, Westport PAL.
He replied quickly. He’s checked with his fireworks guy, who says everything is okay.
Party on!
(Photo/Elissa Moses)
=================================================
Over 225 people enjoyed the next best thing to Creedence Clearwater Revival Saturday night, at the Westport Library.
Green River — the CCR/John Fogerty tribute band — rocked all their hits.
It was part of “Supper & Soul,” the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce’s ongoing series that combines dinner at one of 11 restaurants, a concert, and after-party drinks.
Next up for the Chamber: the much-loved Dog Festival, May 18 at Winslow Park.
Green River, at Supper & Soul. (Photo/Matthew Mandell)
================================================
For a cemetery, there’s a lot of life at Willowbrook.
JC Martin offers today’s lively “Westport … Naturally” shot, of a mallard in the water just off Main Street:
(Another Monday, another week of “06880” Roundups. They’re informative and fun … but they don’t just fall from the sky. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
This morning’s “06880” Opinion piece from the Staples High School PTA executive board — opposing superintendent of school Thomas Scarice’s proposed full ban on cellphones in Westport Public Schools — drew plenty of public comments, on all sides of the issue.
It also drew a private email, from a longtime Staples teacher. The teacher used their name but requested anonymity, due to district regulations about posting on social media. The teacher writes:
There is most certainly a problem at Staples with cell phones. That parents are relying on students saying that there is not a problem is laughable.
I urge any parent to have an honest conversation with a Staples teacher. You would hear the exact opposite.
Students are completely addicted to their phones. As a teacher who strictly enforces the putting of phones in the holder for all classes (grades 9-12), I can say without a doubt that every single day I encounter resistance from students, even though my stance and policy on phones has not changed since the first day of school, or within the last 5 years.
Every week I confiscate phones, bring them down to the assistant principals’ office, email/call home, and follow up with the admin after class.
Cell phone holder.
The reason many teachers do not enforce the phone holders is that it is exhausting. No matter how consistent teachers are with their phone policies, the students are extremely resistant (and unfortunately somewhat rude) to giving them up, even during a class.
Having taught at Staples for over 20 years, I can say that phones have no positive impact on the school day.
I understand that students and parents feel that students will have difficulty navigating their schedules. Students are unaware of their schedules precisely due to the Saturn app. Before Saturn, my students always knew their schedules. They either had them printed out or they had them memorized over time. There was never an issue with students not knowing where they were going.
If students could use phones responsibly we would not be here. But every day students are sneaking phones, leaving class under the guise of having to use the bathroom and then scrolling through social media. I see it every single day here at Staples.
Phones are specifically designed to be addictive. Our students are being asked to monitor their use against a device that is using their own brains to work against what is best for them.
Every notification excites — and distracts — students.
I implore all parents to support the superintendent’s proposed ban on phones at Staples. Your children are not benefiting at all by having access to their phones throughout the school day.
We are doing a disservice to them. I deeply hope the community will come together to realize what is best for these students.
Tonight’s Planning & Zoning Commission virtual meeting drew over 80 online viewers. Most logged on for the third agenda item: discussion of The Hamlet at Saugatuck project.
Some were for it. Some against it.
But all were aghast when — during an earlier agenda item — pornographic images, a swastika, and a video of an ISIS-style beheading popped up on the screen,
Commissioner Michael Cammeyer quickly began deleting people from the Zoom session. Town IT technician Mike Phillis cut the feed. The P&Z took an official break.
But the damage had been done. Viewers were shaken and upset. One man said, “I can’t describe how awful that was to experience. The P&Z was scrambling to try to take care of the situation, but I left the meeting because it was overwhelming.”
This was not the first hacking of a town meeting. The Zoning Board of Appeals experienced a similar incident recently.
Cammeyer and P&Z director Michelle Perillie slowly began letting people they knew were legitimate back in the Zoom meeting.
Cammeyer also called the police. Chief Foti Koskinas recommend canceling the meeting. Town attorney Ira Bloom — part of the Zoom call — concurred.
Koskinas headed to Town Hall. He promised a thorough investigation by Westport Police.
The schedule for the Hamlet application is now uncertain. After tonight, the P&Z had been scheduled to discuss the Saugatuck project on April 21, with public input set for April 28. Westport schools are on break next week.
Upcoming meetings will continue to be virtual. Town Hall facilities do not work for P&Z sessions, Cammeyer says, with inadequate technology and other issues.
In the meantime, town officials will have to figure out how to allow residents to access meetings from home — while keeping out hackers who disrupt and traumatize them.
Chris Swan reports that 3 osprey nest platforms are back in operation, with pairs in evidence over the weekend.
He spotted them on New Creek, in the Burying Hill Beach marsh adjacent to Beachside Common homes; directly behind the Sherwood Island Nature Center along the tidal estuary that forms the state park’s northern boundary, and in the marsh grass on the eastern shore of Sherwood Mill Pond, a couple of hundred feet north of Compo Cove.
Chris has not yet seen activity on the marsh grass at the end of Grove Point Road, on a peninsula opposite the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection air quality shack on Sherwood Island.
New Creek osprey platform. (Photo/Chris Swan)
===============================================
Will national politics damage Westport’s local governance traditions?
That’s a question the Democratic Women of Westport will ask — and hope to answer — at an April 22 forum (7 p.m., Westport Women’s Club).
Speaker Paul Kahn is a professor at Yale School, and author of “Democracy in America: Can We Still Govern Ourselves?” He has studied the effect first hand, in his own Connecticut town.
Kahn’s talk will be followed by a panel discussion with current Representative Town Meeting moderator Jeff Weiser, and his predecessor Velma Heller.
The public — Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters — is welcome. If you’ve got a question for the panel, or to RSVP, email DWW06880@gmail.com
================================================
Dave Briggs and Alisyn Camerota have done it again.
The Wesrporters — experienced journalists who have just launched “Sanity,” a national podcast on a wide array of important topics — sat down the other day with Craig Carton.
The Fox Sports and WFAN host has been open about how his gambling addiction led to a prison term for securities fraud.
With March Madness in full swing, Carton is a timely guest. Americans will bet $3 billion on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
A not-insignificant amount of that money is wagered (and lost) by teenagers.
Carton gave Briggs and Camerota an eye-opening look at America’s gambling culture, and its impact on adolescents.
He provides strong advice, too. It begins with: Don’t let your kid use your account.
Click below to see the episode. Click here to listen on Spotify.
Not the one that keeps the high school safe from hackers, intruders and other bad actors. (Though they do a very good job of it.)
No — this cybersecurity team is the one composed of students. And — out in the open — they recently took part in the prestigious Lockheed Martin CyberQuest Competition, at Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford.
Hundreds of students attempt to solve cybersecurity challenges designed by Lockheed Martin cybersecurity engineers.
The “Capture the Flag” format includes multi-step intrusion scenarios, steganography, reverse engineering, full OS hacks, packet capture, web exploits, social engineering, and cybersecurity awareness.
Staples was the youngest team there. And the only one new to the event.
No problem!
After 3 hours of vigorous hacking they piled up 2,150 points. They won by a massive 400 points, bringing the coveted CyberQuest belt to Westport.
And Jacek Nieweglowski was named Best Coach of the competition.
Congratulations to Jacek, and team members Ignacy Nieweglowski, Sahil Vora, Rohan Sareen and Ezra Schwartz.
Sounds like you could show Mike Waltz and Pete Hegseth a thing or two.
From left: Rohan Sarren, Ezra Schwartz, Sahil Vora Ignacy Nieweglowski,
Last week, “06880” featured Lynsey Addario’s page 1 New York Times photo, from Ukraine.
The 1991 Staples High graduate is a Pulitzer Prize- and MacArthur “genius grant” photojournalist, who has shot images from wars and danger spots around the world.
But Westporters don’t need to read the Times to see her work.
A collection of stunning images of Afghan women is on display at the Senior Center.
Titled “Veiled Rebellion,” they were donated by Addario to the Westport Public Art Collections. Their provenance is impressive: They were first exhibted at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, in 2012.
The text accompanying the photos is from a National Geographic story, written by Addario in 2012.
Additional images from “Veiled Rebellion” are on display at the Westport Library. (Hat tip: Jeff Jacobs)
Chabad of Westport hosts Glenn Cohen — a hostage debrief team leader, and former Mossad chief psychologist — for a “Candid Conversation” on April 23 (7:30 p.m.).
He’ll discuss the release of hostages from Hamas captivity, including first hand insights into what the captives endured and how they coped, while debunking common myths about captivity.
Noted jazz trumpeter Alex Norris headlines this week’s Jazz at the Post (Thursday, April 3; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner at 7 p.m.; VFW Post 399; $20 music cover, $15 for veterans and students).
He’s joined by bassist Joris Teepe, pianist Greg Murphy, drummer Steve Johns, and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall. Click here for tickets.
Whenever he offers a nature photograph for our “Westport … Naturally” feature, we’re all a winner.
Today he sends an American pussy willow, and a friend.
(Photo/Lou Weinberg)
Lou explains: “A very early bloomer, it provides native bees, honeybees and other pollinators with critical late winter/early spring energy, in the form of nectar and pollen.
“What appears to be oversized saddlebags are pollen sacks that the bees bring back to the hive to share.
“These pictures were taken at the Long Lots Preserve, surrounding the Westport Community Gardens on Hyde Lane. In addition to pussy willow, dozens of other native trees, shrubs and wildflowers have been planted to support this very successful environmental rehabilitation project.
“The Long Lots Preserve is a model for what can be done in any neglected green open space. It is a tremendous hands-on environmental educational resource.”
(“06880” — your 24/7/365, hyper-local blog — relies on reader support. That’s no joke! If you enjoy our work — and even if we fooled you this morning — please click here to help. Thank you!)
On the first Thursday of every month, StartUp Westport sponsors a casual get-together.
The next one is April 3 (6 to 8 p.m., VFW Post 399; click here to register).
Call it what you want — meet-and-greet, networking, whatever — it’s an opportunity for our town’s tech entrepreneurs, innovators and investors to get together.
There’s no fee. Everyone is responsible for their own drinks and (if they wish) food.
But if a billion-dollar idea or deal comes out of one of these, maybe the men and women behind it can buy a round at the next one.
===============================================
Drugs, alcohol, suicide — those heavy topics, and more, are addressed regularly in Westport.
Free QPR suicide prevention training (Friday, March 28, 12 to 1:30 p.m., Positive Directions, 90 Post Road West). For the general public, 16+. RSVP: positivedirections.org/events
Exploring Westport’s Relationship with Alcohol. (April 7, 7 p.m., Toquet Hall). A community discussion, including a panel and breakout discussion groups to kick off Alcohol Awareness Month. Panelists include a parent, person in recovery, mental health counselor, substance counselor, LGBTQ community member and teen. RSVP: positivedirections.org/events
Save a Life Day. (April 9, 7 p.m., Town Hall). Positive Directions and Aspetuck Health District provide an overdose awareness event, sigh free Narcan and other supplies to participants. RSVP: positivedirections.org/events
Drug Take-Back Day (April 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Senior Center). Bring medications, for safe collection and disposal.
TOPSoccer — a national soccer program for youngsters with disabilities — flourished her for several years.
Now Eric Serotta and his daughter Blake, a Bedford Middle School 8th grader, are relaunching it.
The Westport Soccer Association and Weston Soccer Club are collaborating, to offer skill development and physical participation, to children in grades K-8 with physical and/or learning differences.
TOPSoccer will run on 5 Saturdays (11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) beginning April 26, at Morehouse Farm Park in Weston.
To register as a player — or volunteer — click here.
=================================================
An incorrect date was given in yesterday’s Roundup for the Earth Animal/Fetch Rescue puppy adoption event at Earth Animal.
The correct day is this Sunday (March 30, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.).
One of many puppies up for adoption this Sunday, at Earth Animal.
=================================================
Content Studio — the Saugatuck Avenue event space — hosts several exciting April events.
Mixology Mixer, with Ed Hernandez of Mixxed by Ed (April 10; 6 to 8 p.m.). Ticket includes 2 drinks, supplies, light bites, and a screening of the 1988 film “Cocktail.” “Perfect for date night, girls’ night out, or corporate team-building.” Click here for tickets.
Westport Downtown Association“town hall” (April 24), for members and those interested in learning more. Wine, beer and light bites, plus information on upcoming town and beautification events. For more information, email beth@contentstudio.com.
Mother’s Day Mini-Portrait Sessions (April 26; sessions available 8 to 5:30 p.m.). For mothers and their children, or children and grandchildren at any age. Click here to book a session.
The prolific author, longtime Westporter and Staples High School graduate just published his second book in 2 weeks.
Swanson — a Vietnam veteran — is now focused on vets’ issues.
“Thank You For Your Service” — published last week — is about a Marine who, despite 2 tours in Iraq, was not a US citizen (though here legally), as he awaits his asylum hearing. Click here to order from Amazon.
“A Fart in a Hurricane” — another Hush McCormick novelette — deals with 3 Marines who were fired from their jobs at the Veterans Administration, without due cause. They want their jobs back, and resort to any means — including blackmail. Click here to order from Amazon.
In April of 1777, British soldiers landed at Compo Beach, and marched to Danbury.
On April 6 of 2025, Westport art historian drives north to the Keeler Tavern Museum. There, at 3 p.m., she’ll discuss “Art, War, and Identity” — an exploration of how the persuasive power of artists during the Revolutionary Era helped sway public opinion, and forge our national identity.
Tickets are $15 ($10 members and students). Click here to purchase, and for more information.
Westport Police made one custodial arrest between March 19 and 26.
A 60-year-old New York City man was charged with criminal attempt to commit larceny, illegal possession of personal ID information device, and identity theft, following the attempted theft of funds from a bank account. He was held on $150,000 bond.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 12 citations
And finally … happy 56th birthday to Mariah Carey!
(“06880” is your hyper-local source for news, events, photos, and everything else in town. If you enjoy our 24/7/365 coverage, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
What’s most important, said superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice at last night’s Board of Education meeting, is to get it right.
Harrington stressed the importance of all documents and emails — including those that had not been admitted as evidence — being provided to the board. He reiterated his call for the resignation of athletic director VJ Sarullo.
Some parents cited concerns about the proposed ban. One said that using pouches to lock phones is not a good use of teachers’ time.
